October 2011
Communicator Survey provides community insights of district
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s part of its interest in gauging community attitudes and perceptions of the district, the school board and administration of Wayzata Public Schools regularly conduct a survey of community residents. The latest survey was completed in April 2011 by Decision Resources, Ltd., a national polling firm based in Minneapolis. The firm has conducted numerous surveys for the district in the past several years. Respondents were asked to rate the job performance of the school board, superintendent/district office administration, building principals and teachers and instructional staff. The results for each group are included below: • School board — 67 percent positive and nine percent negative • Superintendent/district office administration — 68 percent positive and five percent negative • Building principals — 73 percent
positive and two percent negative • Teachers and instructional staff — 89 percent positive and three percent negative The chart at the right shows the ratings for each of the four groups and the ratings from the 2005 and 2008 surveys. The survey also included several questions that were asked of parents with students currently in district schools. Parents were asked if they felt that their children are taught by teachers who care about them. Eighty-eight percent said yes, zero percent said no, and five percent said sometimes. In response to the question about whether parents believe their children’s teachers are highly trained and effective, 82 percent said yes, five percent said no and nine percent said sometimes. Parents were also asked whether they thought their children’s teachers monitor their progress adequately. Eighty-percent responded yes, one percent responded no and 12 percent responded sometimes. On the question of whether teachers meet the individual learning needs of their children, 75 percent responded yes,
two percent respond no and 15 percent responded sometimes. Finally, parents were asked whether they believe there is adequate communication about their children’s academic progress between the parents and teachers. Seventy-nine percent responded yes, five percent responded no and nine percent
School board approves preliminary tax levy
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he School Board of Wayzata Public Schools approved the preliminary tax levy for taxes payable in 2012 at its September 26 special meeting.
The total preliminary levy for taxes payable in 2012 is $47,468,621. This total levy amount represents an overall increase of $1.5 million or 3.27 percent from the previous year and incorporates an intentional reduction of $860,873 of levy authority that the district administration chose to defer to future years. The change in the levy is attributed to growth in the district’s resident student enrollment. Voter approved operating referendum authority is calculated based upon the number of resident students multiplied by the per pupil authority. In recent years, enrollment growth translated directly into an increase in the total operating referendum authority component of the district’s property tax levy. The district’s preliminary levy amount not only includes referendum authority for the 2012-13 school year, but levy adjustments for increases in final 2009-10 resident enrollment as well as increases in revised 2011-12 resident student enrollment. Because of this, the change in the district’s general fund from the previous year is an
increase of 3.8 percent. Notable changes for taxes payable in 2012 include the state’s change to the Homestead Market Value Credit, which the state paid to reduce qualifying homeowners’ taxes. This is being replaced with the Homestead Market Value Exclusion, which reduces the taxable value of qualifying homesteads. Despite the decreased taxable value, taxes will likely remain similar or increase slightly from last year on most properties including apartments and businesses and is independent of any action taken by the district or other local governments. These recent legislative changes on how local property taxes are allocated will make it difficult to quantify a direct correlation between the district’s property tax levy and the amount of taxes that an individual property owner will pay. Affected homeowners with household incomes below $100,780 or whose property taxes increase by more than 12 percent or $100 (whichever is greater) may apply for the state’s property tax refund and, if qualified, will get some of the increase refunded. The form to apply for the state’s property tax refund is the M1PR, available at http://taxes.state.mn.us/pages/current forms.aspx. If you have any questions about the preliminary tax levy, contact Jim Westrum, executive director of finance and business, at Jim.Westrum@wayzata.k12.mn.us, or 763-745-5023.
responded sometimes. Additional results from the survey will be included in the January Communicator. (NOTE: This is the third in a series of stories about the community survey conducted for the district in April 2011. More information will be included in future editions of the Communicator.)
WPS earns 27th consecutive financial reporting award
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or the 27th consecutive year, Wayzata Public Schools has won the Association for School Business Officials International’s Certificate of Excellene in Financial Reporting.
This is for excellence in the preparation and issuance of the fiscal year end 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting Program was designed by ASBO International to encourage school business officials to achieve a high standard of financial reporting. The award, the highest recognition for school district financial operations offered by ASBO, is only conferred to school systems that have met or exceeded the standards of the program. Wayzata Public Schools’ financial report validated the credibility of the school system’s operations, measured the integrity and technical competence of the business staff and assisted in strengthening the district’s presentations for bond issuance statements and provided professional recognition. Jim Westrum, Wayzata Public Schools executive director of finance and business said, “This is another example of Wayzata Public School’s commitment to high standards and to the residents of the district. We are very pleased with having received recognition as a fiscally responsible school district for the last quarter century.” To see a copy of the 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, visit the district’s website at www.wayzata.k12.mn.us on the Budget and Finance page.